{"id":19831,"date":"2019-06-14T08:05:02","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T08:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=19831"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:37:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:37:21","slug":"day-tripper-to-the-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/day-tripper-to-the-may\/","title":{"rendered":"Day Tripper to the May"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Karen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The\nsummer of 2018 was long, hot and record-breaking, yet I spent most of\nit stuck indoors catching up on a huge backlog of work. I can\u2019t\nhelp but feel that I\u2019m entitled to a heat wave again this year, now\nthat I\u2019m in a position to enjoy it. So far, however, the season\nisn\u2019t living up to expectations. The solstice is almost upon us,\nyet I find myself waiting for summer to begin. The winter months are\nlong and arduous here in the north east Highlands. Consequently,\nthere is a certain amount of pressure to make the most of the warmer\ntemperatures and longer hours of daylight at the current time of\nyear. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each\nmorning, as I open the curtains to reveal another wet, windy or\novercast scene, I find my energy levels and motivation seeping away.\nMy rain-splattered picnic table looks somewhat forlorn on my patio\nand my new caravan, my latest whim, parked in the driveway, begs to\nbe towed away somewhere a little more exotic. The central heating and\nwood burner are still in occasional use, and I\u2019ve yet to replace\nthe winter jackets on the coat pegs with summer attire. Nostalgic as\never, I\u2019m looking into the past to find some inspiration in the\nhope of making a few special memories this summer, even with a golf\numbrella welded to my hand and welly boots on my feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Crail Harbour, Fife, 1995<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Holidays\nwere a huge part of my upbringing. My parents, brother and I enjoyed\nlong caravan trips throughout Scotland; not to mention numerous\nweekend jaunts closer to home, around Perthshire, Angus and Fife. I\nloved being able to detach myself from school and, in a world without\nmobile phones and social media, there were no intrusions into family\nlife. As I continue with a personal project to digitise all of my\nchildhood photographs while the rain hammers on the roof of my study,\nI look back on those days through rose-tinted spectacles, dismissing\nthe swarms of midges, dodgy toilet blocks and occasional arguments;\nremembering only the comfort of belonging to a close family; the\nsense of adventure on long walks and bike rides on summer days; and\nthe fun of playing cards around the caravan table in the evenings, or\nhitting the games room after dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nreality, as an adult, holidays can be a significant source of stress:\npacking everything from sunscreen to thermal base layers for a\nScottish sojourn; arranging care for furry friends; preparing to shut\ndown the laptop for a week; haemorrhaging hard-earned cash; and\nreturning home to a mountain of laundry and emails. Changing\ncircumstances over the past few years have led to my husband and I\ntaking infrequent holidays. Perhaps I have less stress to contend\nwith as a result, but I certainly have fewer milestones to look\nforward to. Day trips have become more important than ever, but as I\nwait for a break in the weather on my days off, I find myself\ngrounded, week after week. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I catch myself thinking back to another summer four years ago that had a disappointing start, characterised by winter woollies, an empty calendar and the same sense of longing. After weeks of feeling sorry for myself, I finally planned a day trip, struck lucky with the weather and made some memories to last a lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Isle of May<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite living within a 40-mile radius of the East Neuk of Fife<\/a> before re-locating to the Highlands, the Isle of May<\/a> eluded me until 2015. When I think of Fife, I picture large expanses of rolling fertile farmland; the enticing summits of the Lomond Hills and Largo Law; the post-industrial townscapes of Leven and Methil; the commanding road and rail bridges at Wormit and North Queensferry, linking the peninsula to Dundee in one direction, and Edinburgh in the other; and quaint fishing villages with red pantile roofs in the East Neuk. I tend not to conjure up images of an island that wouldn\u2019t feel out of place in the Outer Hebrides. Perhaps that\u2019s why I overlooked the Isle of May for so long; it simply didn\u2019t fit with my associations with Fife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sea cliffs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Desperate for an adventure, I booked myself a seat on the passenger ferry, and embarked on the hour-long crossing from the fishing town of Anstruther to \u2018the May\u2019, as it\u2019s known locally. As the ferry cruised out of the harbour, I sat on deck with my camera and binoculars, lapping up some much-needed Vitamin D and salt air. Ahead, the Isle of May seemed to emerge from the Forth estuary like a whale breaching the water surface. As we drew nearer, basalt cliffs rose vertically from the sea; every conceivable space occupied by squawking seabirds on their nests; razorbills, kittiwakes, guillemots, fulmars and shags. I was momentarily reminded of urban living, surrounded by strangers going about their daily business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Razorbill, Isle of May<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once\nashore, I explored the island\u2019s extensive lighthouse\ninfrastructure. The oldest lighthouse in Scotland, the Beacon, was\nlit on the Isle of May in 1636. It comprised a coal fire contained in\na metal basket, mounted on a stone tower. The remains survive to this\nday but are somewhat overshadowed by the grand and ornate Main Light,\nbuilt by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of author Robert Louis, in\n1816. Its installation was accompanied by two fog horns at either end\nof the island, which were operational until 1989, the year the Main\nLight was automated. A more modest lighthouse, the Low Light, was\nconstructed in 1843 to help sailors navigate around the treacherous\nNorth Carr Rock near Fife Ness. It became redundant later in the\nnineteenth century before its conversion to a bird observatory \u2013\nthe first in Scotland \u2013 in the 1930s. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A puffin on the island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nthe presence of the lighthouses and other buildings, a real sense of\npeace and remoteness can be found on the Isle of May. Outward views\nto the distinctive profiles of Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills\nbeyond seem somehow \u2018out of sync\u2019 with the wild character of this\nisland. Rabbits munch lazily on the grass while families of eider\nduck wander by, and clouds of puffins fill the air. The \u2018nine to\nfive\u2019 slog is meaningless in a place like this, where time is\nmeasured by the sun, tide and the arrival and departure of the day\nboats. On the return crossing to the mainland, I felt as though I\u2019d\nspent a week on the Hebrides \u2013 not just a few hours ashore on the\nIsle of May, a stone\u2019s throw from the hustle and bustle of the\nCentral Belt \u2013 without all the hassle and expense of a full-blown\nholiday. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Main and Low Lighthouses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Time\nseems to slow down with a side-step from the daily routine and I\u2019m\nalways surprised by how much can be accomplished on a day off when I\nput my mind to it. With my \u2018out of office\u2019 reply switched on and\nmy phone muted, I can relax, reap the rewards of physical exercise\nand free up my mind to be creative. Maybe I\u2019ll stop waiting for a\ndecent weather forecast to overlap with a convenient gap in my\ncalendar this summer and, instead, just go for it; roll the dice,\nmake some plans and create some memories, even if it is unseasonably\ncold and damp. It doesn\u2019t even need to be a day trip; perhaps just\na short walk or a picnic will help me to beat the blues before I get\nmy new caravan up and running. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The summer of 2018 was long, hot and record-breaking, yet I spent most of it stuck indoors catching up on a huge backlog of work. I can\u2019t help but feel that I\u2019m entitled to a heat wave again this year, now that I\u2019m in a position to enjoy it. So far, however, the season isn\u2019t living up to expectations. The solstice is almost upon us, yet I find myself waiting for summer to begin. The winter months are long and arduous here in the north east Highlands. Consequently, there is a certain amount of pressure to make the most of…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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